Portable barricade and support device

ABSTRACT

A mobile barricade support device employs one or more rolling weight-supporting platforms, with a vertical strut extending from each of the one or more platforms to engage and support a barricade wall. The platforms may optionally be fixedly secured together by a horizontal strut and one or more backing brace members may optionally be secured to the platforms and the vertical struts for additional support.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to barricades, and more particularly to a portable barricade and barricade support device.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

Barricades, such as temporary construction barricades, can assist in protecting people and property from harm. Typical construction barricades are stationary and require significant cost and effort to be relocated.

The present disclosure provides, in part, a portable barricade and support device that is stable, easily deployed and easily relocated. In various embodiments, the barricade and support device include an arrangement of weight supporting platforms with vertical struts secured thereto, with one or more barricade elements secured adjacent the vertical struts. Casters or other suitable rolling devices are secured under the platforms to permit barricade mobility. The platforms may optionally be fixedly secured together by a horizontal strut, and one or more backing brace members may optionally be secured to the platforms and the vertical struts for additional support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a portable barricade and support device in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a platform assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a portable barricade and support device in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a platform assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a platform assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a base bracket in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a base bracket in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of a base bracket in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of a portable barricade and support device in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a portable barricade and support device in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The presently disclosed subject matter now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter are shown. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The presently disclosed subject matter may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Indeed, many modifications and other embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the presently disclosed subject matter pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

It will be appreciated that reference to “a”, “an” or other indefinite article in the present disclosure encompasses one or more than one of the described element. Thus, for example, reference to a platform may encompass one or more platforms, and so forth.

In the barricade support device 10 according to embodiments of the present disclosure as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, elements as shown include: one or more platforms 20, one or more weight members 25 supported by each platform 20, a horizontal strut 30 secured on the top faces 21 of the platforms 20, one or more vertical struts 40 secured to the top faces 21 of the platforms 20 and one or more rolling components 35 secured on the underside 22 of each platform 20. It will be appreciated that the device can operate with or without the horizontal strut in different embodiments. In various embodiments, a single platform 20 spanning a longer distance can be employed, with one or more weights 25 positioned thereon. The weight(s) 25 may be retained in position by a threaded bolt 60 extending through the platform 20 and a center opening in the weight 25. The bolt 60 can be secured at the threaded end by a suitable nut 62, for example. Alternatively, a rod (not shown) may extend upwardly of the face 21 of the platform 20 to receive and retain weight members 25 having an opening extending therethrough. It will be appreciated that multiple weight members 25 of the same or varying weight and/or size may be positioned atop the platform 20 as required for proper ballasting. The struts 30, 40 can each be formed as an extruded substantially rectangular prism with a series of openings 33 on all four sides. The series of openings 33 can be aligned, at least as to opposing faces, so as to permit connection to external components through bolts or other devices that may be inserted through the openings 33.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, the rolling components 35 are swivel casters with heavy load bearing capacity. In various embodiments, a swivel caster 35 is provided at each of the four corners of the rectangular platform 20 and can be secured using bolts 17 extending through openings 18 in the platform 20 that are securely affixed to nuts 19, for example. The casters 35 permit the platform 20 to be moved in any lateral direction. In various embodiments, the top face 21 of each of the plurality of platforms 20 has a front edge 26 and a rear edge 28. The horizontal strut 30 can be secured to the top face 21 adjacent the front edge 26 of one or more of the platforms 20, such as by one or more threaded studs 27 extending upwardly above the top face 21 through opening(s) 29 in the platform 20. The studs 27 can extend through openings 33 in the horizontal strut 30 and can be secured by a nut 37 on the outer face 31 of the horizontal strut 30. It will be appreciated that other forms of securing the horizontal strut 30 to the platforms 20 can be employed, such as, for example, securing the strut 30 to the front face or underside 22 of the platforms 20. When the horizontal strut 30 is secured to multiple platforms 20, it provides a stabilizing brace to support lateral movement of the barricade support device 10 and minimizes relative movement between the platforms 20, which can destabilize the barricade support device 10 and potentially damage the supported wall element 50. In alternative embodiments, the rolling component 35 can be provided as rollers or wheels of fixed orientation permitting travel in linear directions. The rolling component need not necessarily be positioned at the corners of the platform but may be positioned at different locations under the platform 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, a wall support saddle 45 can be secured to the top face 21 of each platform 20 and can be supported, at least in part, by flare and gusset plates 55. In various embodiments, the flare and gusset plates 55 are formed with a strut abutment 57 and an angled flare segment 59, wherein the flare segment 59 extends at an acute angle A to the inside face 44 of the wall support saddle 45 and out to a respective side edge 49 of the platform 20. The abutment 57 and flare segment 59 are in contact with the platform top face 21 and provide anchoring stability to the wall support saddle 45 as it supports a vertical male strut 40 and wall member 50. In various embodiments, angle A ranges from approximately twenty to approximately forty degrees to provide stability to the wall support saddle 45 and supported male strut 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 through 7, the vertical male strut 40 is inserted into the wall support saddle 45, and the male strut 40 supports a wall and/or wall elements 50 forming the barricade. The vertical strut 40 can be secured to the wall support saddle 45 by bolt and nut connection through aligned openings 33 and 43 in the struts 40 and 45, respectively. In various embodiments, the wall 50 is provided as a wallboard 52 with a frame-type support 54, and the frame support 54 is secured to the vertical strut(s) 40 by one or more saddle brackets 70 and one or more base brackets 72. The wallboard 52 may be provided as a single large sheet or as modular segments that are secured to and/or held by the frame support 54.

FIGS. 3 and 6 through 8 show different views of a base bracket 72 in accordance with the present disclosure. As can be seen therein, the base bracket 72 can be provided with a wall side support segment 73, a wall under-support segment 75 and a top segment 77 for securing to the top face 21 of a platform 20 at an inner edge thereof, such as the rear edge 28. The wall side support segment 73, wall under-support segment 75 and top segment 77 can be integrally formed as a monolithic base bracket 72, for example. In various embodiments, the wall under-support segment 75 extends substantially perpendicularly from the wall side support segment 73 at a bottom edge 74 of the wall side support segment 73. A lip segment 79 extends substantially perpendicularly from wall under-support segment 75 at an outer end 76 of the wall under-support segment 75. The top segment 77 extends substantially perpendicularly from wall side support segment 73 at a top edge 71 of the wall side support segment 73. The wall 50 is received in the slot 78 created by the wall side support segment 73, the wall under-support segment 75 and the lip segment 79. In various embodiments, the top segment 77 extends in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the wall under-support segment 75. The top segment 77 can be secured to the rear edge 28 of the top face 21 of one or more platforms 20 using bolts and nuts, where the bolts extend through openings 80 in the top segment 77, for example. In various embodiments, the top segment 77 is formed with one or more notch openings 82, such that the top segment 77 can fit around the wall support saddle 45 secured to the top face 21 of the platform 20.

In various embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a backing brace member 90 is secured to the vertical strut 40 and horizontal strut 30 so as to provide additional support to an attached wall 50. The backing brace member 90 can be formed with a substantially vertical segment 92 extending upwardly from the platform 20 and/or horizontal strut 30 and an angled segment 94 extending from a top portion 93 of the vertical segment 92 at an angle to the vertical strut 40. A flange 95 can be formed with the angled segment 94 and secured to the vertical strut 40 using a bolt and nut connection through an opening 33 in the vertical strut 40. The bottom portion 97 of the vertical segment 92 can be secured to the horizontal strut 30 using a bolt and nut connection, such as where a bolt extends through an opening formed in the brace member 90 and an opening (e.g., 33) in a front side of the horizontal strut 30, and where a nut securely engages the bolt on the back side of the strut 30, for example. In various embodiments, the angled segment 94 extends downwardly from the vertical strut 40 to the top portion of the vertical segment 92 at an angle B of between thirty and fifty degrees to provide stability while avoiding any impeding of the weight members 25 stacked on the platform(s) 20.

In embodiments as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, for example, such as where the barricade support device 10 may be employed around a doorway 100 or other structure, one or more cross struts 110 can be secured laterally between vertical struts 40. Such cross struts 110 can be secured using pairs of L-brackets 115 that are formed as L-shaped hollow intersecting rectangular prisms, where each bracket 115 can fit over a strut 40 and be secured by bolt and nut connection, for example, to a respective strut 40 where the bolt extends through holes 33 in the strut 40 as described elsewhere herein. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the cross struts 110 provide support for the wall 50 and frame 54 where there is a gap (e.g., at doorway 100) in the sequence of vertical struts 42. It will be appreciated that a single horizontal strut 30 will not necessarily extend across all platforms 20 in such embodiments, as such a horizontal strut 30 extending over the gap at doorway 100 in the example of FIG. 9 would potentially create a tripping hazard to persons seeking to enter and exit through doorway 100. As such, multiple horizontal struts 30 may be employed. 

1. A barricade wall support device, comprising: a platform comprising a top face, a bottom face and a rear edge; a base bracket secured to the rear edge of the platform, wherein the base bracket can receive a barricade wall; a rolling component secured to the bottom face of the platform; a weight member positioned on the top face of the platform; a first strut member secured to the platform so as to extend vertically above the platform, wherein the first strut member is securable to the barricade wall; and a backing brace member comprising a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the backing brace member is secured to the first strut member.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the rolling component comprises a set of casters.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the platform further comprises a front edge, wherein the device further comprises a wall support saddle secured at the rear edge of the platform, and wherein the first strut member is secured to the wall support saddle.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the backing brace member comprises a first segment extending substantially vertically from the platform to a first segment top end, and further comprises a second segment extending from the first strut member to the first segment top end.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the second segment extends downwardly from the first strut member to the first segment top end at an angle of between thirty and fifty degrees from the first strut member.
 6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a saddle bracket secured to the first strut member for securing the first strut member to the barricade wall.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the platform comprises a plurality of platforms, wherein the first strut member comprises a plurality of first strut members and wherein each of the plurality of first strut members is secured to a respective one of the plurality of platforms.
 8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a second strut member, wherein the second strut member is secured to at least two of the plurality of platforms.
 9. The device of claim 7, further comprising a cross strut secured to at least two of the plurality of first strut members.
 10. The device of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of backing brace members, wherein each of the plurality of backing brace members comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of each of the plurality of backing brace members is secured to a respective one of the plurality of first strut members and wherein the second end of each of the plurality of backing brace members is secured to the second strut member.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein the weight member comprises a plurality of weight members, wherein each of the plurality of weight members is positioned atop a respective one of the plurality of platforms.
 12. A barricade device, comprising: a plurality of platforms, wherein each of the plurality of platforms comprises a top face and a bottom face; a rolling component secured to the bottom face of each of the plurality of platforms; a plurality of first strut members, wherein each of the plurality of first strut members is secured to a respective one of the plurality of platforms so as to extend substantially vertically from the respective one of the plurality of platforms; a second strut member secured to at least two of the plurality of platforms; and a barricade wall secured to the plurality of first strut members.
 13. The device of claim 12, further comprising a weight member positioned on the top face of at least one of the plurality of platforms.
 14. The device of claim 12, further comprising a backing brace member comprising a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the backing brace member is secured to a first one of the plurality of first strut members and wherein the second end of the backing brace member is secured to the second strut member.
 15. The device of claim 12, wherein the platform comprises a front edge and a rear edge, wherein the first strut member is secured to the rear edge and wherein the second strut member is secured to the front edge.
 16. The device of claim 12, further comprising a cross strut secured to at least two of the plurality of first strut members.
 17. The device of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of backing brace members, wherein each of the plurality of backing brace members comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of each of the plurality of backing brace members is secured to a respective one of the plurality of first strut members and wherein the second end of each of the plurality of backing brace members is secured to the second strut member.
 18. The device of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of base brackets, wherein each of the plurality of base brackets is secured to a respective one of the plurality of platforms, wherein each of the plurality of base brackets can receive the barricade wall. 